Clockwise: Original Hanhart stopwatches, Hanhart factory in the 1950’s; Primus Diver 2011 in Rose Gold 18ct; Thomas Morf, CEO of Hanhart.
stopwatches, using Hanhart’s own in-house mechanical movements. Popular with doctors, lawyers, race car enthusiasts and others, these are really beautiful, classic timekeepers. The novelties for 2011 include the Primus Pilot, the Primus Racer, and the Primus Diver in black ADLC-coated cases (all sized at 44mm). In addition, Morf is introducing new Pioneer models at the larger 42mm size, including the Pioneer MonoControl with a single pusher and the Pioneer TwinControl, which has the traditional asymmetrical pushers and red reset button, also sized at 42mm. Another new introduction is the top of the line 45mm Pioneer TwinDicator, a larger watch that does something interesting to the traditional chronograph layout. “When we moved up to this larger size, we decided to move the chronograph subdials to the outside of the dial, to make it the look perfectly balanced,” Morf explains. “We combined the sweep second and the hour counter in the same (left) subdial, so it’s basically a tri-compax function in a bi-compax, compax layout .” The Future Morf is committed to staying true to the company’s heritage, focusing on measuring time with chronographs. Morf can see Hanhart going into more complicated chronographs, like flybacks, split seconds and more. “Before all, the functions we already use in our stopwatches will be introduced in our chronographs. It’s all about instrument watches plus useful functions,” he says. “There are three pillars in Hanhart product portfolio: the Pioneer chronographs, the Primus chronographs and the dashboard stopwatches. A strong brand needs to have a strong and unmistakable product. Hanhart has it all. Hanhart will remain a stopwatch comDELUXE Swiss Made magazine
pany and a chronograph is a stopwatch.” Morf, who previously built the Carl F. Bucherer brand into a worldwide success, is enjoying working on Hanhart. “There are a lot of changes to be made, but I have a lot of appreciation for brand history and I didn’t want to do a new brand.” he says with a smile. “I am not someone who wants to just maintain, I am really good at building a foundation, rather than just polishing the roof. I am looking for challenges and this is a challenge for me.” The challenge for watch lovers will be choosing which Hanhart to buy.
www.hanhart.com
“The most surprising thing is that Hanhart never stopped making timepieces since it was founded in 1882”